The Price and Value Both Plummeted... What Happened to Maotaiju?

Impact of Economic Slowdown in China
Market Capitalization Declines for 3 Consecutive Days

The prices of premium Chinese liquors, including Guizhou Maotai, a representative Baijiu (white liquor) of China, are on a downward trend. This is attributed to weakened consumer sentiment amid an economic downturn in China.

Maotai liquor is a representative strong-aroma type Baijiu produced in Maotai Town, Guizhou Province, known for its clean taste and rich aroma. China has various liquors representing different regions, and many liquor companies are popular enough to be listed on the stock market. However, this year, the price of Maotai, a representative Baijiu, has started to decline.

Maotai Liquor
[Photo by Baidu]

On the 11th, Chinese media such as Qingnianbao reported that the market price of one bottle of Maotai (Feitian 500ml standard) has shown an unusual decline since the beginning of this year. Recently, it fell below 2,400 yuan (approximately 450,000 KRW), marking the lowest level ever. The current market price in the 2,400 yuan range is about 40% lower than the 4,000 yuan (approximately 750,000 KRW) recorded around February 2021.

Earlier, the manufacturer Guizhou Maotai's stock price was also not doing well. Guizhou Maotai, famous for Maotai liquor, was the top company by market capitalization in China last year.

However, this year, its market capitalization reportedly decreased by 60 billion yuan (approximately 11 trillion KRW) after three consecutive days of decline starting from the 8th.

So far, Guizhou Maotai saw an average annual sales growth of 13% over four years due to the effect of price increases in January 2018, but this year, its expected sales and net profit have declined. Analysts suggest that the economic downturn in China has influenced this.

In fact, the Chinese economy is showing strong signs of deflation. In January, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 0.8% compared to a year earlier, marking the lowest level in about 15 years since September 2009.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.